Re: Electric 510 wagon.

Re: Electric 510 wagon.

For some reason I have to keep reloading this page until the photos show – it’s obviously an issue with my machine/connection….
There were some interesting comments in the thread….

“Before "stacking " Tesla modules you might want to hear out Jack Rickard on the disastrous results of another stacked Tesla modules battery box: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUWwZme4DIc At 32:25 he talks about the problem.”

“Yes, I am very familiar with that build. I was subscribed to the thread when the incident happened and the thread was taken down. This is the build I mentioned a few post ago where the car and garage caught on fire.”

I watched a bit of the You Tube video, Jack on the video explained that the fella above not only burned his EV Jeep to the ground, but also burned his garage and house to the ground. The web site was removed because there was question that the insurance company wouldn’t cover the fire….. In other words, don’t mess around with these batteries, you need to understand the power involved and how to control it properly.

I’d love to EV my wife’s 521 one day, but I certainly have some homework to do. I talked with a fella last year with an EV Datsun PU at Canby, he said that DC likely isn't the way to go anymore, all production cars are AC. I don't know enough to comment, other than he said an AC controller fails off, but a DC controller failed FULL ON! You'd want that kill switch really close, because full on is .25 of a second away from serious disaster.
But this build is an inspiration just the same. I saw a 510 in Calgary a few years ago that was a complete driver, with a similar EV conversion and no battery pack. The car was sold by the time I saw it – the EV system was to be parted out to go into a Porsche 914. Who knows what happened to the 510 sedan. But it showed me that it is possible today. However in the You Tube video above, the fella simply says;

“If you want an electric car – go buy a Leaf for $10k, because you’ll never build a safe electric car for the same price.”

Maybe that's sage advice, and a good place to start!
Might be something to consider. Interesting thread and read though. The author sure posted some good photos which is rare in a build project.